Mistbound

Greetings, hunters!

Well, it looks like we’ve started a little tradition. As usual, we’re a bit late for Halloween. At this point, it’s becoming our signature move, so let’s just say everything is going according to plan.

This update brings a new event with exclusive rewards, another major Rover overhaul, voice commands, new volumetric lighting, shadow optimizations, and more.

Halloween may be over, but we’re just getting started.

Mistbound

This update kicks off a new Halloween event. While investigating certain maps, you may come across a mysterious mirror.

The mirror opens a passage to another world, shrouded in thick mist. Beyond the veil lies a place best left undisturbed. Scattered throughout this mist-covered world are altars where you must light the flames.

It won’t be easy. Something sinister lurks in the mist, and it will do everything in its power to stop you from finishing what you’ve started. Explore the mist-covered world, light the flames on its altars, and try to make it out alive.

Complete the event to earn exclusive rewards available only while it’s running.

Be careful: if the entity catches you twice, the mirror will shatter, and you won’t be able to return to the mist-covered world for the rest of the contract.

In the mist, it’s hard to tell what’s just a few steps away. Sometimes, you’re better off not knowing.

And in the name of the holy pumpkin, LIGHT UP!

Rover Update

Rover has received another major update. This time, we’ve almost completely rewritten its movement system. Over time, the old system had accumulated so many fixes and special cases that Rover could behave unpredictably in tricky areas of the maps.

Its wheels now also adjust to the terrain beneath them, making its movement look more realistic.

The new system should handle stairs, doorways, narrow passages, and other tricky areas much more reliably. Rover should also get stuck less often when moving between rooms and choose more consistent routes to its destination.

That doesn’t mean it’s suddenly become a perfect driver, but it should be far less likely to decide that a doorway is its forever home.

Rover Voice Control

Rover has another new feature: with the right perk, you can now give it certain commands using your voice.

This lets you control Rover during an investigation without opening extra menus or taking your attention away from what’s happening around you.

To record your voice commands, follow these steps:

1. Record the name you want your Rover to respond to three times. You can use a different name for each recording.
2. Click the plus icon above the command panel to add a command.
3. Record three voice samples for this command as well.
4. Then click the plus icon in the panel below the recordings to assign the action you want Rover to perform.

You can give Rover voice commands using proximity voice chat (V) when it’s nearby, or over the radio when it’s farther away.

IMPORTANT! Say Rover’s name first, then wait for its beep before giving a command.

New Volumetric Lighting

We’ve overhauled volumetric lighting with a new system that works better with the game’s existing lighting, improving how light looks in dark rooms and other atmospheric environments.

Light beams are now more clearly defined and interact more naturally with their surroundings. The difference is especially noticeable with flashlights and spotlights.

The new system was also designed with performance in mind, aiming to strike a sensible balance between visual quality and performance.

You can disable volumetric lighting in the game settings.

Shadow Optimizations

We’re continuing to tackle one of the most demanding parts of lighting. This update brings further optimizations to the shadow system. We’ve reworked some of the calculations and how shadow-casting objects are handled, which should improve performance in scenes with lots of lights and geometry, while also improving shadow quality.

The difference should be especially noticeable on larger maps and in rooms with many dynamic shadows active at once. Of course, we’ll keep working on lighting, shadows, and the game’s overall performance.

Other Changes

• Fixed missing localization in the “Modules” section of the contract setup menu.
• Warehouse is now classified as a large map.
• Ghoul now has the same chance of being selected as every other ghost.
• Further refined the formula that determines ghost events.
• Increased the reward for the “Darkness” additional content to 120%.
• Fixed an issue that made the Chaos Tricks integration button unavailable in the in-game menu.
• Fixed a bug that prevented contracts from starting when a random map was selected.

Thank you to everyone who keeps playing, sharing feedback, and sending us bug reports.

And yes, next year we’ll definitely try to release the Halloween update on time.

Probably...

P.S

Another update will arrive in a few days, bringing the remaining fixes and a little new content.